Manager of Infrastructure – Platform Engineering

Latham & Watkins LLP; Los Angeles (CA); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 205,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare, life and disability

401k plan

11+ paid holidays and PTO accrual

Well-being programs

Professional development

Employee discounts

Affinity groups and networks

Job summary

Latham & Watkins LLP is seeking a Manager of Infrastructure – Platform Engineering in the US, with hybrid in Los Angeles or Las Vegas. You will lead container hosting and AI/ML workloads, shaping architecture and standards, while coaching engineers and delivering secure, scalable infrastructure.

Responsibilities include designing reference architectures, driving CI/CD and IaC, and collaborating across security, networking, and storage teams.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Information Technology or related field; equivalent work experience may be considered.
• Red Hat OpenShift and Kubernetes certifications are preferred.
• ITIL Foundation certification or equivalent service management experience preferred.
• Deep hands-on Kubernetes/OpenShift architecture experience; OpenShift AI experience preferred.
• Experience leading engineers, mentoring, hiring involvement, and performance conversations.
• Experience designing for AI/ML workloads on Kubernetes and virtualization transitions (OpenShift Virtualization).

Responsibilities

• Own delivery prioritization for the Platform Engineering pillar within defined strategy and backlogs.
• Lead high-level and low-level designs, reference architectures, and global standards for container hosting and AI/ML workloads.
• Act as embedded member of Platform Engineering, collaborating on OpenShift, IaC, and CI/CD delivery.
• Develop hybrid patterns where container platform intersects with Azure estate.
• Author Architecture Decision Records guiding technology direction and cost impact.
• Lead vendor/product evaluations and draft ADRs.
• Create and maintain technical docs, diagrams, patterns, ADRs, and operational guidance.
• Collaborate with security, networking, storage, monitoring, and service management teams.
• Provide leadership, coaching, and mentoring to engineers; promote collaborative work practices.
• Protect highly sensitive information in accordance with policies.

Skills

Kubernetes & OpenShift architecture

AI/ML platform architecture

Infrastructure as code (Terraform)

ITIL Foundations

Leadership & mentoring

Security & compliance

Education

Bachelor’s degree or higher in Information Technology or related field

Tools

OpenShift

Kubernetes

Terraform

VMware Cloud Foundation

OpenShift AI

CI/CD tooling

Job description

About Latham & Watkins

Latham & Watkins is one of the world’s leading global law firms advising the businesses and institutions that drive the global economy. We are the market leaders in major financial and business centers around the world. We are at the forefront of AI systems within the legal sector. Our investment in people, commitment to innovation, and focus on the future empower you to build an incredible career and thrive as an exceptional professional in a supportive culture. If you aspire to be the best, and work with the best, this is where you belong.

About the Role

The Manager of Infrastructure – Platform Engineering is an integral part of Latham’s Technology & Information Services team and will be located in either our Los Angeles or Las Vegas office. This role serves as the design authority for how modern workloads are hosted on the firm’s container platform and works directly with the engineers who build and operate those services. The role is centered on Red Hat OpenShift and Red Hat OpenShift AI, and combines working architecture, line management, and embedded engineering.

Please note that this role may be eligible for a flexible working schedule that allows for a hybrid and in-office presence.

Responsibilities & Qualifications

Other key responsibilities include:

• Owning delivery prioritization for the Platform Engineering pillar within the strategic direction established by the Senior Manager of Infrastructure Design & Engineering, including backlog sequencing, work acceptance, estimation, and day-to-day trade-off decisions
• Leading the development of high-level and low-level solution designs, reference architectures, and global standards for containerized application hosting and AI/ML workload placement
• Contributing directly as an embedded member of the Platform Engineering pillar by participating in stand-ups, accepting sprint work, and partnering with engineers on OpenShift, infrastructure as code, and CI/CD delivery
• Collaborating with the Azure-focused Technical Architect to develop and implement hybrid patterns where the container platform and Azure estate intersect
• Authoring Architecture Decision Records for decisions that establish technology direction, introduce new patterns, carry significant cost, or create long-term organizational impact
• Leads vendor and product evaluations within the pillar’s domains through time-boxed technical inquiries that produce recommendations and draft ADRs.
• Creates and maintains comprehensive technical documentation, including architecture diagrams, design specifications, reference patterns, ADRs, and operational guidance.
• Collaborates with security, network, storage, application, monitoring, and service management teams to ensure cohesive and supportable infrastructure solutions.
• Follows the firm’s standard ITSM, ITIL, Change Management, security, data usage, equipment usage, and licensing policies and procedures.
• Provides leadership, coaching, and mentoring to engineers and promotes effective, respectful, and collaborative working practices.
• Protecting and maintaining any highly sensitive, confidential, privileged, financial, and/or proprietary information that Latham & Watkins retains
  

We’d love to hear from you if you:

• Possess expert knowledge of Kubernetes and OpenShift architecture, operations, security, networking, storage, multi-tenancy, and lifecycle management
• Display strong knowledge of AI/ML platform architecture, GPU scheduling and allocation, and storage patterns for model training and inference
• Demonstrate advanced infrastructure as code capability using Terraform or an equivalent technology

And have:

• A bachelor’s degree or higher education diploma in Information Technology or a related field, preferably; equivalent work experience may be considered in lieu of a degree
• Relevant Red Hat OpenShift, Kubernetes, cloud, infrastructure, and/or architecture certification, preferably
• ITIL Foundation certification or equivalent service management experience, preferably
• Deep, current, hands‑on Kubernetes architecture experience; Red Hat OpenShift experience strongly, preferably
• Demonstrated experience designing for AI/ML workloads on Kubernetes; Red Hat OpenShift AI experience, preferably
• Experience leading engineers or a strong lead-level track record that includes mentoring, hiring involvement, development planning, and performance conversations
• Demonstrated success delivering architecture with engineering teams through pairing, sprint participation, and design decisions grounded in operational delivery
• Experience working effectively in distributed, asynchronous teams, preferablyExposure to NVIDIA DGX-class systems, InfiniBand or RoCE fabrics, and VAST Data or comparable HPC/AI storage, preferably
• Experience with vSphere or VMware Cloud Foundation estates and virtualization-to-container transition patterns, including OpenShift Virtualization, preferably

Benefits & Additional Information

Successful candidates will not only be provided with an outstanding career opportunity and welcoming environment, but will also be provided with a generous total compensation package with bonuses awarded in recognition of both individual and firm performance. Eligible employees can participate in Latham’s comprehensive benefit program which includes:

• Healthcare, life and disability insurance
• A generous 401k plan
• At least 11 paid holidays per year, and a PTO program that accrues 23 days during the first year of employment and grows with tenure
• Well-being programs (e.g. mental health services, mindfulness and resiliency, medical resources, well-being events, and more)
• Professional development programs
• Employee discounts
• Affinity groups, networks, and coalitions for lawyers and staff

Latham & Watkins is an equal opportunity employer. The Firm prohibits discrimination against any employee or applicant for employment on the basis of race (including, but not limited to, hair texture and protective hairstyles), color, religion, sex, age, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status (including veterans of the Vietnam era), gender expression, marital status, or any other characteristic or condition protected by applicable statute.

Latham & Watkins LLP will consider qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the City of Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance (FCIHO).

Please click here to review your rights under U.S. employment laws.

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Pay Range

USD $180,000.00 - USD $205,000.00 /Yr.